Barcelona vs Juventus

Cotton Bowl in Dallas forms the backdrop for a mouth-watering pre-season friendly between Barcelona and Juventus.

Inspired by a raft of high-profile summer signings, Barcelona squeezed past arch-rivals Real Madrid 1-0 in a rare pre-season El Clasico last time out. Xavi Hernandez’s men have made it two from two in their United States Tour, having defeated Major League Soccer side Inter Miami 6-0 beforehand. Marquee signing Raphinha has found the net beyond halftime in both Barca’s games in the US, highlighting the potential for becoming one of the leaders of the new ‘Blaugrana’ team. While waiting for Robert Lewandowski to get off the mark, last season’s La Liga runners-up are looking to keep three consecutive clean sheets for only the first time in 2022. That would allow them to maintain an almost perfect pre-season record (W3, D1) and build further confidence ahead of the upcoming clashes against non-European rivals.

In the meantime, Juventus’ youth academy graduates Cosimo Marco Da Graca and Mattia Compagnon scored on either side of halftime as ‘I Bianconeri’ swept Chivas Guadalajara aside 2-0 in their opening pre-season friendly. With all three eye-catching summer signings, Paul Pogba, Angel Di Maria and Gleison Bremer, in contention to start, Massimiliano Allegri’s team will be seeking revenge for an embarrassing 3-0 defeat in their most recent pre-season match against Barcelona back in 2020. But it’s worth noting that Juventus have lost back-to-back fixtures against fellow continental rivals outside the Allianz Stadium in the build-up to this clash, conceding precisely twice on each occasion.